The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1887-03-30
The North School Building.

The North School Building.
To the Editor Of the Press:
regret to ask again for space in your
paper for the purpose of calling attention to
matters pertaining to the public schools
There are, however, some subjects so vitality
important that it is almost impossible to say
too much about them, and doubtless your
readers will admit that the welfare of chill
dren and the cause of education belong to
that class.
What is known as the North School is the
largest and in many respects the most i'm
portant one in Portland. 1t has an attend
ance of about seven hundred scholars, who
REQUIRE the services of master and twenty
five assistant teachers. It being such an
immense institution and there being great
interests at stake, feel that the parents, as
well as their representatives in the City
Government, should know more than they
seem to about the condition of the building
and the improvements imperatively needed.
In the first place, in many of the rooms the
seating accommodations for the scholars
are exceedingly poor and unhealthy. The
seats are narrow and uncomfortable, while
in many instances the desks are the old
fashioned long and narrow double ones
which passed under universal condemnation
years ago. In several of the rooms the desks
are so low that the larger scholars are
obliged to sit in terribly stopping position.
while the tops of the desks are so narrow
that it is impossible for them to use either
the writing book or slate otherwise than in
an extremely tiresome, awkward and I'M.
natural position. AS consequence of such
an unfortunate state of affairs, several rooms
are in Imperative need of new chairs and
desks in order to favor the health, eyesight
and general work of the scholars.
In the second place, the system of heating
throughout the building is defective in the
highest degree. Instead of there being steam
pipes on two or four sides of each room. 50
as to diffuse the heat in something approx.
mating an equable manner, there is simply a
radiator which is located in one corner Of
the ROOM. As result one corner of the
room is often heated to an almost unbear.
apie degTee, While other and remoter por.
lions OF the room are frequently uncomfort.
ably cold. In other words, scholars sitting
near the radiator frequently suffer from
being overheated, while those sitting near
the extreme opposite corner as often com
plain OF being too cold. Not only does such
an arrangement leopardize health and com.
lori, but 1t tends to prevent that good mental
work which is only possible where there are
well regulated warmth and pure fresh air
IL Is claimed that, as a matter of economy
IL would be lar cheaper if the heat could be
generally diffused, and so far as health and
comfort are concerned, it would be conducive
to both if all portions of every room could
be warmed alike.
In the third place. the system of so called
ventilation in the North School building is
simply. outrageous. l do not hesitate to
characterize it as such, because a school
different rooms is frequently offensive and
slckenlng, is an outrage upon the health OF
scholars and teachers. As is well known
the only ventilation furnished to each room
is that obtained by means of an opening into
fiue in the wall. Of course, nothing could
be more unreliable, because much of the
time there is no current of air in or through
the fiues, and especially so when the atmOs.
phere out of doors is damp and heavy. Such
was the case during recent visit
1or 1 tested with burning paper the
openings orregisters leading into some OF
the fiues, and found that there was no more
draft into them than into the side of brick
wall. AS confirmat0ry evidence that the
rooms were not sufficiently ventilated, was
the fact that the air in some of them had
erowding and wbera tbaro IL
amount of pnre air Where s%ch ! state y,
affairs nrevaiis If means tbaf a1,a, o'aso "
in the room is breathing nelson ofI,y pcihsv n
room CONTAINING fiftv scboIsps tbars s oec,,,
about sixty thousand respirations per hour
and cubic inches of carbonic acid gas Tbi,
form of @as IL noi.oa, ~ 4 dviu sas' 1hIs
if re-breathed in snch onantities as r. eyyoead
six parts in ten Thousand volumes of nura
air. That ii is re-5reathed in deIetarf;o ons
quantities in the rooms of the North scbooi
can be shown bv msthemat t oa,c,a sSnOo
if one renrires sdditionai nronf hasdas ~
offensive odor which So often nrava;ls f Ine
deed. nothing else is to he exnacted Than tba,
the atmosphere in every room viii sl haco una
quickly and completely Contaminated so Ione
as fffy scholars % 81 tba ,atn ~ iohe